Ewen McKenzie and Michael Hooper have had differing paths to their respective roles in the Wallabies line-up.
The coach bided his time, learned his trade and has developed a style of rugby that he employs in a quest to achieve his goals.
His current captain, on the other hand, demanded selection in the team by his own form, but it took the departure of Ben Mowen to French rugby and the knee injury to Stephen Moore that has allowed the 22-year-old Hooper to be elevated to the role of Wallaby leader. But have they delivered as a captain-coach combination?
Australian rugby fans were enthused with the 3-0 defeat of a lacklustre French side in the June series. The Wallabies had maintained their form from the 2013 European Tour and treated their fans to a feast of running rugby, bar the Melbourne Test. Things had started well for McKenzie and Hooper.
The Rugby Championship offers a much sterner opposition than the touring French. McKenzie has not minced words in talking up the Wallabies when it comes to the All Blacks in particular with comments such as “We want them to bring their A game because we’re going to bring ours. That’s what it’s about.”
The reality is neither the Wallabies, nor McKenzie or Hooper are yet to bring their ‘A game’ against the World Champions, or a side that has the mettle to disrupt the McKenzie game plan.
As I reach for my block of chocolate, I ponder why.
Michael Hooper has performed tirelessly and at times tremendously as an open side flanker in this Rugby Championship, yet his leadership has been lacking. Hooper’s inability to rally his troops and make sound decisions at pivotal times in Auckland was also a factor in what turned out to be a grotesque Wallaby performance.
A leader needs to do more than just be an example. A leader must identify how the battlefield changes during a conflict, strike when the opportunity presents and maintain his sides focus at crucial times of the battle. Despite his playing heroics, Hooper has failed in these points.
He has died a hero’s death as a captain.
The choice not to take points in the rain soaked test against the All Blacks in Sydney was an error that will be reflected upon for some time as a lost opportunity. While I applaud Hooper’s bravery, he ran a fool’s errand with his decision-making as skipper at crucial times and distanced the Wallabies from victory as opposed from bringing them closer to it.
In moving onto Auckland, again despite being one of Australia’s better players on the park, Hooper failed to understand the dynamic and ebb and flow of the game at vital times that cost his side.
The game started with a near perfect kick off from Matt Toomua, the Wallabies challenged well and profited. Yet for reasons unknown there was a shift away from this tactic and I was flabbergasted to see the Wallabies seek out Brodie Retallick at the kick off.
This was a flawed illogical tactic, that as a skipper Hooper failed to check but his failures don’t end there.
When All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw was given 10 in the bin, we saw real leadership in action. At a time when the Wallabies should have taken the game away from the All Blacks the reverse happened.
Without their captain, senior members of the All Blacks like Read and Smith rallied their troops and ripped into the Wallabies. Hooper and his senior players were all at sea.
Despite Rob Simmons being then given 10 minutes himself, at no time did we see the Wallabies galvanise as a fighting unit in combat as their opponents had. If Hooper was trying to send a message to his men, they were not listening, or did not know how to as they lack the ability to concentrate under fire and act accordingly.
Ewen McKenzie sought the coaching role and must carry the previous failures of the Wallabies past to secure the Bledisloe Cup. He has contributed to this legacy through poor selections and decisions.
McKenzie has appointed a 22-year-old captain, yet starved him of some strong leadership figures to assist him when taking on top flight opposition. In hindsight I think James Horwill may have been a better choice than Simmons or Carter, purely due to his grunt.
Rod McQueen was right to seek out proven partnerships at provincial level and employ that to the Wallabies when possible in his reign. Yet McKenzie has chosen a scrum half without a running game, and a fly half who can’t orchestrate a back line with consistency.
A flawed illogical selection. What was wrong with the proven Waratahs partnership of Nick Phipps and Bernard Foley?
The challenge now for Ewen McKenzie is to get his selections right that not only get his set piece stable, but gets his pack moving forward and his back line attacking more directly and from a flatter platform.
Furthermore McKenzie needs to select a couple of older heads to support Hooper is his decision making. I would look to bring both Scott Higginbotham and James Horwill into the starting line up this weekend, with Scott Fardy to make way for the Melbourne Rebels skipper.
My team:
1. Slipper
2. Hanson
3. Kepu
4. Skelton
5. Horwill
6. Higginbotham
7. Hooper (C)
8. Palu
9. Phipps
10. Foley
11. Horne
12. Toomua
13. Kurindrani
14. Ashley-Cooper (VC)
15. Folau
16. Fainga’a
17. Cowan
18. Alexander
19. Simmons
20. Hodgson
21. White
22. Lealiifano
23. Beale
bennalong
Guest
Uncle I agree with much of your article but I feel you have done Michael Hooper a grave disservice. Perhaps that is your intention but he is in your chosen team. I would argue that's because he's first picked and that in fact was the reason he was made captain. Perhaps you think you had no option as McKenzie picked him as captain Your opening sentence mentions McKenzie and Hooper as a 'combination'. Ironic really. You have damned Hooper on the back of a poor Wallaby performance and contributors on the Roar seem to have joined in, yet the obvious person to blame is the bloke who "knew how to beat the AB's", who chose the team, as well as his own captain, but studiously ignored all significant 'combinations' available. I would also argue he ignored the Tah's use of Hooper in open space working with his 9 & 10. McKenzie dumped his incumbent 5/8 for the French tests after he had steered his team to victory and promoted that bloke's Tah's teammate, his inside centre, over him. This despite the fact that these players had combined to win the Super title this year ! Great for player confidence ! Great for team moral ! Now he's dumped Beale ! He'll feel great too, eh ? The fact that he's now trying Phipps and Foley simply tells you he's been trying very hard to avoid the bleedin' obvious 9/10 combination for reasons you can only surmise. How'd you like to be a young new captain with all that to deal with, hoping like hell your dour leader really does know what he's doing. Hooper was given a game plan and a plan B no doubt. Don't judge his cataincy on that last game. He could have done nothing more than play his heart out. As usual !!!!
Argyle
Roar Guru
Hi Pete, ESPN Rugby Stats mate.
Rugby Tragic
Guest
Yep Chan Wee/Rob9, I interpreted perhaps erroneously, when talking about the RWC, the squads to be named will have 30 players in it (assuming status quo) to be submitted to the IRB/World Rugby. both AB's and Bok's had a 16:14 split, the Wallaby's 17:13 As to who is selected, I think a lot of water is still to go under the bridge but 'the short list' must be starting to emerge. With JOC and possible Karmichael Hunt possibly in the frame, it will be interesting to see who ultimately gets picked and who misses out.
Mike
Guest
Of course you don't believe the stats... they don't agree with your belief that Palu is the Sith Lord bringing down Australian rugby (and I don't think I am exaggerating your position). Its all part of the great conspiracy to keep the man you most dislike playing rugby in Australia.
Peter Hughes
Roar Rookie
Where do you get these stats Uncle ??? I don't believe the tackle count one nor the missed tackle count. I saw PALU miss 5 myself - critical tackles too. PALU ran 14 yards (metres??) and 1 offload in Sydney you say. And you think that's good for a No 8 - compare it with K Read or L Messam or S Higginbotham or any decent No 8.. Then what about - turnovers made, errors made, effective clean outs ??? PALU was certainly Mr Invisible at Sydney & Aukland imo. Same as he is in every high pressure test - been the same for 10 yrs. He is always the least effective forward on the field, he's slow, error prone, lacks mongrel, lacks impact. Aust will never be competitive against ABs with 7 forwards
Trent
Guest
Agree on all points. And yes he has a smug look which is a shame. I hear he is a nice bloke but comes across smug
Trent
Guest
Hodgson is 1.85m and 103kg. 6kg makes a big difference when talking lean muscle mass. Especially at international level. I just hope Hodgson gets enough minutes to settle and have an impact. And if he gets played regularly he could very well be a reliable and versatile player for the Wallabies. His limited opportunities 3 years ago are hardly an indication of what player he is now. No-one else's form gets talked about from 3 years ago after all. Otherwise Hooper would have nothing to brag about now would he?
Chivas
Guest
Thaw as and an oversized kid... the oversized kid being Skelton not Hooper....
Chan Wee
Guest
@ Rugby Tragic : think he inadvertently called a match day 23 the "squad" :) most squads have a 16 : 14 split and some even go 17 : 13. in addition injury replacements are also allowed so the squad is more like 40 for NZ :P
Chan Wee
Guest
Anyway Deysel is a 6. He wears 7 becoz SA have a different numbering way. Hooper can put on the bulk but that IMO will affect his speed. A comparative player is Chris masoe. He was a lot faster as an AB but now morwe a power player at toulon.
RobC
Roar Guru
Thanks UA. Yup, Hooper and leadership should have done a much better job. But its not in his skillset. When the WBs gets more consistent forward selections (ie performance) and injured players get back on the field, then its likely Hooper can go back to his normal job. He will be a v good captain in due course, given more experience, maturity and skill as a leader And yes, the leadership team in general was also lacking for the same reason.
Rob9
Guest
Sorry, not exactly sure what you're referring to there RT?
Rugby Tragic
Guest
"one hit wonder?"........... Oh, I see it was a joke! .................. wasn't it?
Rugby Tragic
Guest
Rob9, I believe 'RWC squads' consist of 30 players so MARTO can still get his balance right .......
Harry Jones
Expert
Cheers Uncle. I think Wednesday late. We'll revert back to Morne, probably Strauss & Serfontein, and maybe Matfield-Etzebeth combo.
Brendan Hope
Roar Guru
My Bok starting XV for this Saturday: 1. Tendai Mtawarira 2. Bismarck du Plessis 3. Jannie du Plessis 4. Bakkies Botha 5. Victor Matfield 6. Francois Louw 7. Marcell Coetzee 8. Duane Vermeulen 9. Francois Hougaard 10. Patrick Lambie 11. Lwazi Mvovo 12. Jan Serfontein 13. Jean de Villiers (captain) 14. Bryan Habana 15. Willie le Roux
Rob9
Guest
A lot of teams including NZ, Wales and England only took 1 recognised 7 to the last RWC. Hooper’s going straight to the bench when Pocock is back and in form. You got a link for ‘Pulver’s instructions to McKenzie’ re; Hooper and Pocock? Or did your sister’s, best friend’s uncle once share a lift ride with Pulver? There’s not a lot of grunt in that pack with Hooper and Higgers being looser ball runners while Pocock is your traditional over the ball 7. The responsibility to belt into the defence around the breakdown and grind for every inch through the middle shouldn’t solely fall on Pocock’s broad shoulders. You’re lacking a big wrecking ball that operates around the tight stuff. Pocock will start at 7 if he gets back to his best and provide much (not all) of what we’ve been missing since he’s been injured. It makes sense for Hooper to drop to the bench to come on later as his twin rover with fresh legs when the game opens up a bit. Higgers at 6 and Palu at 8 as that wrecking ball I was talking about. He’s had an outstanding year and one quiet game against the AB’s doesn’t change that. Your bench is also a 4/4 split which is ridiculous and you need a second prop anyway.
Xenomorph
Guest
Old crybaby Horwill should never have been captain ever. His form has been down and his bottom lip quivers everytime things dont go his way. At least Hooper can take a setback or 2 without bursting into tears.
Brendan Hope
Roar Guru
Fantastic team Uncle. You were almost bang on the money, minus Carter, Fardy & Simmons. Bring it on!
Xenomorph
Guest
I agree. Mowen should have been kept. Now Aus is stuck with Simmons as its only viable lineout forward.